RWBY: The Darkness Within (Canon Version)
by Walkman355
Summary: As Team RWBY comes together to learn and flourish in the light, four heroes begin their path through Beacon in the shadows of these four heroines. While Ruby unravels the conspiracy around Vale, Alexander Blut hunts down another individual whose human experimentation and anti-government behavior threatens the safety of Vale, and maybe even the world.
1. Prologue: Alex

**First section of the revisions, and soon I will have this story off and chugging.**

Knives: Prologue

 _This is not a story of heroes in the sunlight, this is an ode to the unsung heroes. Those who wage their war in darkness beneath the shadow of that crimson sun. While RWBY is the name of those who carry the burden of the light, it is these four who wade in the shadows of heroes, doing what must be done to free themselves of their shackles so they may join the heroes in the growing dawn._

"Wake up!" The voice roared as he felt the iron hard fist strike his lower jaw, "Answer me now Knives, who do you work for!?" The man roared, he was roughly six feet tall, wearing an all-black suit and a red tie. Sunglasses at night was a poor choice, but he wasn't complaining, kept him from seeing more of this bastard's ugly face.

Standing behind the man was Knives insane carbon-copy, who lovingly called himself Johann. This split personality was Knives' constant companion, and his appearance now was a vivid reminder of Knives' worsening mental state, "Hey, can you hear me in there!?" The boy yelled into Knives ear.

"Like a bell." The young man barked back, spitting out the blood that had pooled in his mouth. How many hours had it been in here, tied to a chair in a dark basement getting roughed up by some low level thug in some shitty street gang, five maybe seven? He didn't care really because punishment was something he could take, but if he was late to Beacon he wouldn't get to go to the school this year like Ozpin had promised him. "Look, I need to be out of here in about three hours do you think we can speed this along?"

The thug gritted his teeth, "Smug bastard!" He roared to Johann's delighted giggling. He delivered a kick to Knives abdomen and Knives felt the toe of the shoe displacing his organs as it drove a wedge through his muscle. He was used to interrogations like these, because life hadn't been easy for him. Growing up on the streets he learned to keep his head down, but that didn't stop him from getting caught and brought into the darker side of Vale. At six he was in a facility for scientific experiments, being a lab rat for all manner of pet projects, mainly chemical enhancement and Dust Infusion. Most people saw the mineral as a source of power for vast weapons and common day appliances, so doing what was done to him was like injecting yourself with gasoline and sending electricity through your body. That beautiful little process that broke and eroded his mind is what spawned Johann in the first place. He escaped at eleven years old and joined a local gang helping them rise up in the ranks of power until they were a full blown force to be reckoned with. And they made enemies of people like this fucking prick.

"Look, I already told you, after that job two years ago I've been on the straight and narrow man!" Knives yelled, focusing what little aura he could around the blood running down his arm and exercising his semblance of Armament over it. He created a small blade with his blood and began to saw through his binds carefully.

"See, this is what I like about us, we're ever so crafty. Now do as I taught you, just keep him talking and then we slit his throat and go." Johann replied with a grin.

"Bullshit! When we found you, you was robbing us of all our hard earned Lien!" He fussed. The guy wasn't wrong, Knives needed money for school and decided to go about it the best way he could think of, stealing it from criminals, but two years out of practice had left him in his current situation.

"Hard 'stolen' Lien, you think your boss would take a little more fucking pride in his work." Knives said already anticipating the next blow and felt it strike him just above his heart as the wind almost rushed from his lungs, leaving him coughing.

"Don't gimme that shit! Your boss is long dead, Don Volk's infamous hunting dog, the 'Immortal Assassin' Bloody Knives, you're a fucking waste of air. You ain't even worthy enough to kiss the ground I walk on, you little bitch!" The thug said with a cackle.

True, two years ago he was one of the more feared people in the criminal world across the Kingdom, but after he went to do a regular robbery, everything went south. Cops were up his ass faster than he could've expected and he was quickly detained and slated for execution for numerous counts of murder and theft, while the murders were a formality as most of them were gang kills. He caught a seriously lucky break that day though, as he just happened to pass Professor Ozpin of Beacon Academy he got lucky enough to get a second chance at life. "Learn under me and fight Grimm until you die, or die now." The man had told him, but even now it was an obvious choice, Knives didn't want to die so he chose the option that let him live another day.

While he had let this punk walk all over him till now, it was time to get going. He broke free of his bonds and kneed the man in his face before delivering a few swift jabs to the gut and bashing his head into the wall. He walked out of the basement and into the small house he was being held in as the three guards met his eyes and quickly tried to draw their weapons. Knives rushed them, leaping across the table and grabbing two of the asps that the men used, quickly extending the blunt weapons and wheeling on his attackers. One tried to fight with his fists, but Knives ducked under the first blow delivering a quick hit to his left leg, chest, and finally his head knocking the man unconscious. He threw one of the asps at the guard at the back who'd grabbed a gun and quickly spun kicked the other one to the ground. He beat the one at the back savagely spinning around the room like a dancer, before recovering the first asp and dropping them both over the head of the second guard.

With the three unconscious men lying there, Knives went into the back storeroom and grabbed his weapons and his hoodie and armor, quickly redressing himself. He fit the red hoodie with the black knives crossed on the back over his black sleeveless. He grabbed the black chest plate and left shoulder-guard and fit them nicely on himself before tightening his black leather bracer with red plate over his right forearm. He slipped his black greaves over his red and black checkered converse and tested his range of motion in them. He slipped on his black fingerless gloves and grabbed his weapons to check them, he drew the red steel kilij from it's scabbard seeing the name "Jack" engraved on the blade as he slipped it in its sheath and slung it across his back. He drew the other, a chainsaw sword with "The Ripper" hastily etched into the blade before sheathing it and setting it on his tailbone. The final piece of his arsenal was the scroll, the little holographic device he used for communication. "Hmm, five missed messages from Ozpin, he's gonna have my ass." The boy said as he put the scroll away, "I guess I'd better call him."

"Aw, do we have to? Hey just let me out for an hour or so, a few murders later and we'll be back at Beacon; snug as a bug in a rug!" Johann said with a wicked grin.

Knives fished a pack of cigarettes out of his hoodie and lit one up taking a long puff, "Shut the fuck up." He stated bluntly as he left the house and walked towards Beacon. Tomorrow the year would begin, and he would be forced to associate with people he could care less for. He bumped into a kid on his way out the door, "Watch where you're going." He said.

"I'm sorry." The boy said as he stood dusting off his blue and gold coat before walking away. Knives looked as he walked away and thought to himself, _I hope he's not someone I get paired with._ If only he knew the trouble that man would get him in.

 **There we go, let's keep it rolling!**


	2. Prologue: Luxus

**Time is not really on my side anymore, but I'm on an inspiration high, so I'm writing till my fingers fall off! First I updated HunterXRWBY, now this, Next is Remnant of RWBY, and then there will be one more Darkness Within Canon Chapter. So tune in children, Daddy's gonna take you for a ride!**

Luxus: Prologue

 _And now we call to the lonesome gunman, the lone gambler who will tempt fate. The catalyst that brings our heroes together, and the firm hand that holds them together as he keeps his finger on the trigger. The man who face love and loss, hope and tragedy, the most to lose and the most to gain._

After the encounter with that weird kid, Luxus needed to take his mind off the induction ceremony tomorrow at Beacon Academy. And so he wandered into the small gambling den within a bar in the Industrial District in Vale. The men gathered here to waste their paychecks gambling and blowing off steam from work; around the table were a myriad of negative emotions. Avarice, Lust, Hate, Fear; and Luxus fed off it. His semblance, Vector allowed him to redirect the flow of things around him whether it be physical objects, emotions, or energy itself. His family was in the gambling business and he believed that the only good way to understand your opponent was to read them. His family excelled at reading faces and it was due to his father's rigorous training that he was capable of reading the atmosphere of emotions and telling people's moods based off of micro-expressions. The current mood in the room told him that the tensions running high would make for easy winnings. He was trying very hard not to bounce around like a school boy and throw off the ladies.

At the next hand Luxus saw his opening and sat down, "Deal me in."

"Aren't you a little young to play Blackjack?" The dealer asked.

Luxus flashed his family crested pocket watch, "Deal. Me. In." He said asserting himself.

The man shut up and looked at the ground, tossing the cards out to each player. Luxus eyed him carefully as he had been for the past thirty minutes and knew each card as they were tossed out; counting cards was something his grandfather had taught him to do rather well. Luxus checked his cards, a nine and a two, and smiled with the total of eleven. The table was a round of "Hit me" until it came to Luxus.

"Hit me." He watched as the card seemed to fly in slow motion for a while, he was dealt a ten as he expected and sat back quietly grinning. They showed their cards and Luxus wasn't impressed. One man had 24, another had 18, one man had 22, and the last had 19. "Well it looks like I win," Luxus said with a smile as he began to pool his chips, "I think I'll go play somewhere else." He said eyeing roulette, which was a much more challenging, as it was more about luck than skill.

"Not so fast," The man with the 19 said rising, who he found out recently was named Jacob. "This table plays until you cash out." He was a bit of a fat man with a handlebar moustache and a black suit. His comb-over didn't help the tacky red polka dot tie he wore.

"Yes, ok, but I'd rather save you the embarrassment of going home in only your boxers with nothing in those big pockets of yours." He said illustrating his point very thoroughly. "The sign of a good gambler is to know when to quit, and in this case I'd advise you too. If you keep me here you will only lose more, because I don't like losing."

"You don't scare me, Würfel, you can't be that good." Said the man with 22 said, named Flint. He was dressed like a cowboy and Luxus could only snicker.

He shrugged, "If you insist." He said as he sat at the table once more and nodded at the dealer who shuddered in anxiety.

Fifteen minutes and many winning hands later the men were left with only the clothes on their backs and the slacked jaws on their faces. "I warned you not to do it." He said nonchalant.

Jacob stood, drawing his revolver in a flash and aimed at Luxus. There was a brief flash of white and he pulled the trigger; a click. He tried again and was met with another click to his disappointment. Luxus shook his head and opened his balled fist; six bullets fell to the table. "Come now, at least try to be civilized." Jacob dove at the table to grab his bullets and Luxus simply flicked his wrist. He drew on the power of his aura focusing his semblance, Vector, to manipulate the bullets; they glowed with a pale purple aura and rose off the ground. He stood and the other men sat there petrified with fear. "Now I am going to go cash my winnings and leave. Oh, and Petey," He said to the man who had played a 24, "Here's your wedding ring back, if you truly value your wife go home and quit gambling; for good." He flicked the ring up in the air and it landed in the man's open palm.

The man nodded vigorously and Luxus turned to leave, by breaking his concentration the bullets dropping to the table. He walked toward the counter with the chips in their case and heard the man trying his best to silently load his gun; popping the top of his cards he drew out the ace of spades and readied himself. He heard the click of the hammer moving towards the firing pin as the revolver trigger was pulled. He could sense the malice and fed off it; pooling the emotion through his aura and into the card he spun and threw it. It glowed purple and sliced through the bullet and the gun, stopping gently over the man's heart. Jacob stood there affixed with fear and it was ever so delicious, "You are lucky I don't kill you right here and now." He remembered the words his grandfather had said to him, "A man never draws his gun when another man's back is turned, he faces him and they duel as men. I haven't drawn my guns," He said showing off the two semi-automatic pistols under his coat, "I could have easily gunned you down, but I honestly don't see you as a threat." He flicked his wrist and the card went spinning back to it's owner as he gripped it tightly and slipped it into his case. He then cashed in his winnings and left, leaving those idiots to think for a while.

He went to a livelier district and enjoyed the nightlife, treating women to nice drinks with his fake ID and delved into pleasant conversation with his vast wealth he had earned. When he decided it was late enough, he walked all the way to Beacon's tram station just to get a view of his future school. He arrived at the station, and saw jacob waiting by the tracks with a pack of goons in tow. Judging by their dress they belonged to Hei Xiong's nightclub and they were in for a tough fight.

"You shouldn't have come here, I will show no mercy." Luxus said, finally pissed off at the ignorant man. Seriously, he'd been beaten twice, did he have a death wish or was he just stupid?

"Gun him down!" He yelled as his men drew Tommy guns and opened with a hail of gunfire.

He threw out his cards, using his semblance again, and they circled him in a shield as the bullets rained down where he stood. The cards were special made from a Kevlar like cloth that was razor edged; using Vector he could rotate them around him in a circle to form a sort of bubble shield.. They spun around him madly as he slowly loaded his pistols, being mindful of the blades that ran from the trigger to the base of the barrel. "Lilith and Esmeralda, sorry girls, but I have more work for you." He slammed the clips in and picked his targets. His fingers squeezed the triggers in a blur, fired rapidly, the bullets passing through the small gaps in the cards knocking the gun out of each man's hand. He sent a few of his cards out to slice up their guns and then return to the shield to protect him. The whole fight lasted thirty seconds, and when he was done they were left with nothing but slacked jaws, broken guns, and empty pockets. He collected his winnings once more and grinned. The night was still young, and the fun had only just begun.

He made his way down the platform and looked at a poster that had been placed on the wall. It was a young man with a brown eye, wearing an eyepatch and it said "Join the Black Ice Mercenaries, today." And he smirked.

"Black Ice, eh? Interesting how a famous mercenary group is doing recruiting this time of year." He said as he sifted through the files in his scroll; the young man was Deverou Tenebrous, and he would be arriving at Beacon this year.

 **So if you haven't noted how I allude to each chapter with the end of the next that's something I'm doing now with the reboot to help the story flow as well as add a little bit of "Well what happens next dammit!?" Writer away!**


End file.
